This realistic Lightning 3D model is crafted to blend seamlessly in any kind of background environment and renders very fast.

The mesh is optimized for low polycount and can also be used in games.

Polygons:
8143
Vertices:
8174

The Lightning geometry is made in real world scale ~ 8km height
(which is the average height of this type of Cloud to Ground Lightning),
but can be scaled up or down to fit your needs and will still look good
in renders.
Scene units - m (meters).

This is a V-Ray version. If you are using other renderer you will be able to use the geometry, but will have to make/use your own materials.

Every branch can be easily selected (by Element) in case you want to
animate different illumination and/or timings per branch (as it happens
in real world) for some spectacular slow motion animations.

All elements are UVW Unwrapped without overlapping just in case you
need to use textures. Current one uses Vertex Color (which can be baked
to texture if needed) and is embedded in the exported FBX format too
(can be baked in Substance Designer, etc.).

Feel free to adjust the brightness of the light materials to best
match your scene and camera settings. They are properly named and easy
to set, separated by branch size.

The glow of the main bolt is made via V-Ray Lens effects Bloom +
Glare (which is set up in the scene) and can be turned off if you want
to add your own effects in post.

Rendered on black background the lightning will be perfect to blend
in your image via 'Screen' or 'Lighten' mode in PhotoShop,
AffinityPhoto, etc.

The geometry can also be used as a light source when merged in your
scene. You can adjust only the main bolt strength as it is the brightest
and most influential.
Make sure to check out a related V-Ray rendering tip included with this
product as .jpg and .txt files.

The model can be easily imported via drag and drop - there are no
background objects, cameras and additional lights in the scene.

Compatible with 3dsMax 2010 and up.

Exported versions in 3DS, FBX and OBJ formats (no materials).

Please have in mind, that depending on the software you use, the
exported formats may not look exactly how you see them in the preview
images. In some cases the mesh may appear triangulated and you may need
to manually reassign materials/textures .

If you feel like it, please use hashtag #lightning3d when you post
online an image that uses this model, it will be fun for me to have a
look.

Enjoy!